Story too complicated?

Having a detailed world is not an issue, but knowing what to put in the story is the key. I would try to sort out what yo think the audience needs to know to get the world and what you need to know to make an interesting story. Best of luck.
 
My problem is that I always make my worlds and lore too convoluted for players to know what is acceptable and what is not.
I'd suggest rolling a dice to see how many more details you should add to your current subject before moving to the next aspect in your lore/world/plot. Like a d20 or d100 might be fine.
 
I'm not sure a world can ever be TOO detailed. The more detail, the greater the immersion. That said, there is a case of too much information at once. It can be very difficult for players to absorb a 20 page write-up of a very intricate world, and to take it all in before even deciding if they want to join the roleplay, let alone start!

It all comes down to how you PRESENT your information. Think of it like a book. The roleplay is the entire book. Front cover, back cover, and everything in between. The front/back covers of the book are your advertisement. The entirety of the book CONTENT beginning to end reveals aspects of the world over time as the story progresses. You wouldn't have the entire book's lore on the back cover - it would wind up being a book unto itself if you did!

I tend to recommend providing information in tiers. A short, concise and catchy introduction to a roleplay should be the first thing a person reads. This is what's going to hook them and make them want to learn more.

After that allow deeper reading, but broken down into sections and tiers. This allows players to get a rough overview of each 'area' of lore before being able to delve deeper at their leisure. An example might be a world with multiple countries. If all the characters are starting out in one, the characters are likely to only know basic overview information on the other countries anyways, so the players don't need to read in depth information. HOWEVER if a player is playing a character who grew up in a foreign country, that player will require more in depth information. So having it available is good, but in a way that is easy to sort through what is and isn't needed.

Information can also be expanded upon over the course of a story. A specific town in a specific country may have a VERY rich history. Take the Salem Witch Trials in the real world for example. Lot of history there for that specific region of the US, but unless your story revolves AROUND the Salem Witch Trials, it's likely to never be mentioned in any of the general information write-ups. But that doesn't mean your characters couldn't travel there and encounter reference to these historic events during their time there. It fleshes out a sense of depth and uniqueness to that specific area, but doesn't burden your players to need to read an entire history book before starting in your roleplay.
 
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Complexity isn't generally an issue, it's the amount of information you attempt to deliver in a single sitting. Pacing dictates that the natural progression of a scene should unveil things one piece at a time.

Instead of attempting to describe an entire city at once, describe the immediate location that players are located in. Let the characters in the story explore and ask questions about the location they are in, and develop the world out from their questions and exploration accordingly. It can best be summarized thusly...

Describe a scene by simply stating that someone is standing in a room with two doors and a window. Their character can then investigate the doors, the window, leave out of one of these ways without looking first, investigate the room itself for further detail, et cetera. Whatever they investigate, detail, describe. Give the general gist of something, and then let interaction dictate what gets developed and fleshed out. Let the characters pace the story and determine what is revealed and what remains a mystery. Complexity will come later as a natural byproduct of an expanding narrative. :p
 
As said above, there's no such thing as too detailed a world. In fact, the more that a world feels like there are things going on outside the view of the players/readers, the more real it becomes and the easier it is to hold suspension of disbelief. The biggest mistake you can make, though, is trying to convey every part of the world you create to the people you want to experience it. There will be continents that are never seen, grand stories that never get heard, and epic quests that everyone other than you will only hear about in passing from gossiping taverngoers or an insistent skald. If the world is just for the story, then developing it beyond what is seen tends to be a bit of a waste. If the story is in addition to the world, then pick and choose the parts that you want to shine a light on.
 
When in doubt have someone else read it over. Often you stare at a piece you are writing for so long you don't notice the problems with it because it all makes sense in your head. Having someone else read over what you wrote can not only help you find errors but will also allow you to find out what works and what doesn't. Encourage the person reading your story to give you lots of notes and questions so you can figure out how to simplify what you have for the readers sake. Also, make sure to show, not tell. Often when you become too descriptive or get into long monologues about the world or a character you tend to lose the reader's interest or make it hard to visualize. Simplifying things down to two or three details will help leave room for the imagination and not over complicate a situation and allow you to really focus on what matters.
 
This is somewhat the same as what others have said before, but... I'll offer up my opinion anyways.

Do as much worldbuilding as you'd like; flesh everything out, because then it'll seem a lot more real to both you and readers. Leave room for imagination in your writing, though, don't make everything concrete and set-in-stone. Mention only what's needed in the plot currently, or will be used in the plot later on. Flesh out the world entirely if you wish to, but don't include all of your worldbuilding in the actual story.
 
I'm not really a type who tries to make complex stories (not for lack of trying but mostly just lack of experience, although I would like to try in the future), so maybe my opinion is useless.

But if I was in that position, I would try and find a balance between creating a universe that is filled with lore and backstory while also simple enough for my players to understand and not have to read a million text blocks like they're stuck in history class. As others have pointed out, it's all about how you approach it. Don't waste details, be concise, ask for help, etc. and you should be able to communicate what you need to just fine.
 
I don't think a plot or roleplay can be too complicated, but according to this possibly real/possibly not Einstein quote says:

"If you can't explain it simply, you don't understand it well enough."

So I think the most important thing is that YOU understand it, and that you understand it well enough that you can explain it simply to players and that you can answer their questions with simple answers. If you can work on simple descriptions of all the different aspects of your world, you'll find your players aren't as confused by it anymore, even if it's complicated. :)
 
I tend to think of stories in DnD in terms of detailed history books. We tend to learn history in sections of time and what is relevant to that time in history.

I'll give an example of my world of Eir Soph, which I use to start my DM career with my two veteran friends to help and teach me along. Anyways, I divided Eir Soph's history into two major parts: Medieval Era and Steampunk Era. Information given in the Steampunk era is different than in the Medieval Era due to technological lore differences and political difference between countries at the times. Even though I do that, the lore of the Steampunk Era, which I do with friends, is vast so I segment it even farther by dividing it between periods of big events. If there is a large event such as a war going on, I take in consideration factors that caused it as well as tidbits of details before in order to fully know what the characters would know in that point in history.

A concrete example: In the Medieval Era, humans in Eir Soph interact with Elves and Half-Elves and know that the unified nation of Sophen sells Half-Elves to the Elvish kingdom as slaves. The other kingdom, Galtur is divided into several different kingdoms as they have not been unified yet. Existence of Valkyries and Tennins are known and documented. Humans can only access magic through crystals and suffer risk of becoming crystallized due to overuse. There is no universal religion.
In the Steampunk Era: Sophen and Galtur suffer political tension after major war. Elves are known as legends until they descend from the sky in floating cities. Humans still need to use crystals to use magic, however they are more effective as they are refined and implanted. Half-Elves, Valkyries and Tennins are lost knowledge not even having been preserved as legends. There is a universal religion with the worship of a Holy Lady.
 
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